LEGO SMART Play: What can it do?
Posted by CapnRex101,
I had a chance to see the LEGO SMART Play sets in London earlier this week and there is much to say about them, as you can imagine.
I am going to begin by covering the facts of what the SMART Brick can actually do and its essential features like battery life, before posting another article covering my opinions about the system: good, bad and baffling.
Battery Life and Charging Time
Each set containing a SMART Brick also includes a charging pad with space for two bricks. They take about two hours to charge fully from empty and the charge should last for about 45 minutes of extremely thorough use, with lights and sounds happening all the time.
Also, the brick is designed to retain battery life out of the box, so children will not have to wait for it to charge after building the set, which would obviously be a major problem. The brick turns on when shaken, which could happen during transit before the set has even been purchased.
I asked this question of Federico Begher, Senior Vice President of Product (New Business), who alluded to some kind of unique technology that ensures some battery life will remain when you open the box, but did not elaborate further. The brick does contain a light sensor, so I wonder whether it can detect being switched on in total darkness and switches off quickly under those circumstances, 'thinking' it is still in the box.
Features of the SMART Brick
The various press releases for LEGO SMART Play have emphasised how much technology is packed into the brick and it does seem very functional. I am sure technically-minded adult fans will find creative uses for its features, but I also imagine some limitations where it would need to interact with Mindstorms or Spike Prime elements, in which case you might as well use those systems to achieve similar functionality.
Nonetheless, the SMART Brick does have many capabilities. The following list is based on my limited experience with the brick and conversations with its developers, so it is almost certainly not comprehensive, but should cover the essentials of what the brick can detect:
- Movement – This is the core feature, as shaking the brick switches it on and it responds to motion thanks to the accelerometer inside. For example, the brick emits responsive engine sounds as you move the X-wing, A-wing and TIE Advanced found in the sets revealed thus far.
- Orientation – The brick is aware of its orientation and reacts accordingly, generating lights and sounds. R2-D2 screams when you perform a roll with the X-wing, for instance.
- Colour – The colour sensor is able to recognise red, blue, green and yellow LEGO pieces, with a relatively wide scope, so similar shades are not currently distinguished. This may be refined in future though, apparently, so more different colours are recognisable.
- Ambient Light – This was only briefly mentioned by one of the presenters, but the SMART Brick recognises ambient light conditions, perhaps to influence how it registers colours in a darker or lighter environment.
- Sound – The brick does not record sound, but it can detect sound and trigger actions.
- Other SMART Bricks – One brick can detect another and information can be transmitted between them. This is how the function of the X-wing and TIE Advanced shooting at each other works, which you may have seen in videos. The bricks detect precise direction over roughly 80cm and they are aware of each other five metres apart. Information transmitted between bricks can be as rudimentary as a colour, so one lights up red because the colour sensor on another detects red.
- SMART Minifigures – The brick detects when a SMART minifigure is nearby, recognising the character and responding accordingly. For example, when you place Darth Vader near the brick, a brief burst of the Imperial March plays.
- SMART Tags – SMART Tags tell the brick how to respond to a situation, informing it when to behave like an X-wing, a duck, a dinosaur, a car or countless other things. I assume the non-Star Wars tags will be available in future sets.
- The Position of Other SMART Parts – SMART Bricks can detect the relative position of minifigures, tags and other bricks, knowing which side of the brick they are on or whether they are above or below. This seems to serve little purpose in the Star Wars sets revealed so far, although it showed some promise in the demonstration, as one brick knows when another passes by, or which of several bricks is closest.
- The Orientation of Other SMART Parts – Similarly, the brick can recognise the relative orientation of other SMART elements. For instance, it knows when a minifigure lies down on the brick and emits a snoring sound.
As mentioned, I will keep my full thoughts for a separate article, but for now, I think this system has potential because it seems very responsive and adaptable. However, its implementation in the Star Wars sets unveiled so far is probably the least interesting use I have seen. I was much more impressed with its versatile use when connected to a duck or a police car than I was with the X-wing's engine sounds, unfortunately.
Please let us know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them, or forward them to those who can provide answers.
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145 comments on this article
I think for me at least a big problem with the system is how restricted it is. The bricks can only do the functions LEGO intends for each specific piece. The lack of customization makes it feel more like the builds have to serve the tech than the tech serve the builds.
So the only output is sound? I'm not seeing anything about it moving a motor or switching a light on for example.
Here come the complaints about getting another x-wing
While I appreciate that this is clearly not aimed at AFOLs, and it is good that it doesn't rely on an app or screentime, I can't help thinking that it's ultimately just a gimmick that kids will get bored with very quickly, and I worry that it might also erode their young imaginations.
@Kazashimo said:
"So the only output is sound? I'm not seeing anything about it moving a motor or switching a light on for example."
Because it doesn't do that. It makes lights and sound in reaction to how it's moved and what smart tags it detects. That's it.
This isn't a new Technic hub or whatever, it's a gimmick for sets aimed at kids, not adults.
It doesn't even connect with an app, other than to update firmware.
The people freaking out about this like it's the end of the world or that it's going to ruin all sets going forward are nuts.
Lego makes Star Wars sets but doesn't get the license or permission to use sounds from the actual movies or series?
I was expecting proper x wing sounds and Jizz music for the cantina. https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jizz
https://youtu.be/nSRwzP23ifI?si=oUU-bB1YqXRuDL63
Voice clips wound have been amazing.
Could have had an Anakin set talking about how he doesn't like sand.
A big let down.
The fact that an article like this is even necessary is testiment to how Lego have already dropped the ball.
Is there any retrospective on how the Lego community reacted to Mindstorms when it first released way back when? That's the most comparable sea change event in interactive Lego I can think of. Of course, the Internet was very different back in 1999 and I don't know how readily we can find what the"NOBODY ASKED FOR THIS" reactions were.
(As far as I can tell, Mindstorms had a respectable life as a specialized engineering teaching tool for kids. The more commercialized Mindstorms like the Droid Developer Kit and whatever that blue brick was didn't nearly last as long.)
Sooo, for example, is making your own sounds with your mouth that difficult now? I don’t understand a need for this SMART brick.
If anything, it can certainly empty my wallet completely...
@Veotax said:
" @Kazashimo said:
"So the only output is sound? I'm not seeing anything about it moving a motor or switching a light on for example."
Because it doesn't do that. It makes lights and sound in reaction to how it's moved and what smart tags it detects. That's it.
This isn't a new Technic hub or whatever, it's a gimmick for sets aimed at kids, not adults.
It doesn't even connect with an app, other than to update firmware.
The people freaking out about this like it's the end of the world or that it's going to ruin all sets going forward are nuts."
I'm not 'freaking out' about it, just trying to understand more about what it can do
That's a very complicated way to achieve things toys have done since the 80s. For AFOLs the "shake to activate" is completely stupid, because you cannot put the brick into anything complex like a train in your city because you don't want to remove it all the time and shake it to for example have train sounds in your layout.
Are the smartbricks different across sets? Or are all smartbricks the same?
Just wondering if each smartbrick has a limited number of sounds installed, or if every smartbrick can play every sound that the smart tiles will trigger.
Thank you for this article. After the article about the announcement, I had absolutely no idea, what it is. The marketing text meant nothing to me. "It is new, it is innovative, it increases the fun" but HOW??
Now I understand. Telling the truth, a brick making pew-pew sounds seems unnecessary, since kids can do these sounds with there mouth already. But okay, I am rooting for the success.
@squiz18 said:
"Are the smartbricks different across sets? Or are all smartbricks the same?
Just wondering if each smartbrick has a limited number of sounds installed, or if every smartbrick can play every sound that the smart tiles will trigger. "
They are the same. The Smart Bricks are controlled by the Smart Tags which are near them. The Smart Tags are the things which are special in every set.
@IgelCampus said:
"That's a very complicated way to achieve things toys have done since the 80s. For AFOLs the "shake to activate" is completely stupid, because you cannot put the brick into anything complex like a train in your city because you don't want to remove it all the time and shake it to for example have train sounds in your layout."
The Smart Play system is not aimed at AFOLs. That‘s why it‘s called Smart Play and not Smart Display.
As I understand the brick does not have pre-recorded sounds, everything is synthetic and is generated based on a code that the brick reads in from the tags / smart figures. Hence the brick is also universal, and not tied to sets. It is the tags and figures that give the set-specific input.
@Kazashimo said:
"So the only output is sound? I'm not seeing anything about it moving a motor or switching a light on for example."
It also emits light, but more to illustrate that it is active than to illuminate particular features. They did show the brick connected to a police car though and the brick behaved like flashing lights on the car's roof.
I asked one of the designers whether they had considered producing a brick with a motor or another means of activating physical functions and it sounds like that is a future possibility. I believe there would be utility in having a brick with a simple motor in place of functions found in the standard SMART Brick.
@inversion said:
"As I understand the brick does not have pre-recorded sounds, everything is synthetic and is generated based on a code that the brick reads in from the tags / smart figures. Hence the brick is also universal, and not tied to sets. It is the tags and figures that give the set-specific input."
Correct.
Can't wait for the typical Brickset "Polishing a turd" follow up article (rolls eyes) . . .
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"(As far as I can tell, Mindstorms had a respectable life as a specialized engineering teaching tool for kids. The more commercialized Mindstorms like the Droid Developer Kit and whatever that blue brick was didn't nearly last as long.)"
Mindstorms was very successful in fooling kids (me) into thinking they had the slightest interest in programming when they really just wanted to play with Lego.
@inversion said:
"As I understand the brick does not have pre-recorded sounds, everything is synthetic and is generated based on a code that the brick reads in from the tags / smart figures. Hence the brick is also universal, and not tied to sets. It is the tags and figures that give the set-specific input."
Thats great thanks. It does sound good. I'll aim to pick up one smart brick set and have a play with my son to see what we think. I'm interested to see where they take this.
@Bricklunch said:
"The fact that an article like this is even necessary is testiment to how Lego have already dropped the ball."
Eh? Even in amongst the desperation to complain about it that seems a stretch.
I think the only issue I have is I am an AFOL not a child.
"45 minutes of extremely thorough use, with lights and sounds happening all the time."
That sounds like it would put parents off!
I don't understand why they went to the effort of putting the tags in the minifigure when they could've just attached the 2x2 tiles to their backs?
I wonder if they'll sell the smart brick separately too?
@RogueWhistler said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"(As far as I can tell, Mindstorms had a respectable life as a specialized engineering teaching tool for kids. The more commercialized Mindstorms like the Droid Developer Kit and whatever that blue brick was didn't nearly last as long.)"
Mindstorms was very successful in fooling kids (me) into thinking they had the slightest interest in programming when they really just wanted to play with Lego.
"
I still have two original Mindstorms sets buried in my garage. My daughter is past the age where she'd be interested in them,so maybe I'll haul them out in 10 years if I have any grandkids and see how they take to them.
@Troncity1 said:
"Lego makes Star Wars sets but doesn't get the license or permission to use sounds from the actual movies or series?
I was expecting proper x wing sounds and Jizz music for the cantina. https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jizz
https://youtu.be/nSRwzP23ifI?si=oUU-bB1YqXRuDL63
Voice clips wound have been amazing.
Could have had an Anakin set talking about how he doesn't like sand.
A big let down.
"
That’s the problem is that Lego poured all this money into making smart bricks and designed crummy sets for it (not to mention raised prices) only for the smart bricks to sound nothing like Star Wars
From the article:
"SMART Bricks can detect the relative position of minifigures, tags and other bricks, knowing which side of the brick they are on or whether they are above or below"
My understanding from watching the demos is that the tags need to be directly underneath the SMART brick to result in the SMART brick making sounds or lights. Is this not the case?
I.e. Can a tag nearby (since the SMART brick can apparently detect the relative position of other tags) induce functionality?
I ask because this could open up the possibilities of what could be accomplished with a SMART brick quite a bit!
So how limited are the bricks’ responses? If you have one that plays the Imperial March when put in a TIE fighter and Vader comes near, and you put that brick in, say, a police car instead do you now just have a police car that plays the Imperial March if Vader comes near or will it be able to make police car sounds?
It would seem the smart brick is tied to the specific set it came with, however from the photos I've seen, they all appear to look the same without any distinguishing marks on them. Is there any way to make sure if you had a bunch of these they are easily taken out, charged and ensure you put them back to the same set? What happens if you use a brick from set a in set b? Does it still function normally?
@Troncity1 said:
"Lego makes Star Wars sets but doesn't get the license or permission to use sounds from the actual movies or series?
I was expecting proper x wing sounds and Jizz music for the cantina. https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jizz
https://youtu.be/nSRwzP23ifI?si=oUU-bB1YqXRuDL63
Voice clips wound have been amazing.
Could have had an Anakin set talking about how he doesn't like sand.
A big let down."
I was also anticipating more Star Wars-specific sounds and dialogue, but it is not a case of failing to get permission to use them. The sounds are not pre-recorded, but generated by synthesisers in the brick.
While it would be impossible to create completely accurate sounds and dialogue using the synthesisers, the designers also wanted to avoid pre-recorded dialogue because sets would need to be language-specific.
@Brickalili said:
"So how limited are the bricks’ responses? If you have one that plays the Imperial March when put in a TIE fighter and Vader comes near, and you put that brick in, say, a police car instead do you now just have a police car that plays the Imperial March if Vader comes near or will it be able to make police car sounds?"
No, you do you not now just have a police car that plays the Imperial March if Vader comes near. Read the article and other comments. "The brick does not have pre-recorded sounds, everything is synthetic and is generated based on a code that the brick reads in from the tags / smart figures. Hence the brick is also universal, and not tied to sets. It is the tags and figures that give the set-specific input"... per inversion and CapnRex101's "correct" answer to this statement.
Not sure where people are getting the idea that, because kids can make noises with their mouths, they must not like toys that can make noises.
"R2-D2 screams when you perform a roll with the X-wing, for instance."
Well, crap. Now I need the X-wing.
Guys they made Lego sets that function like Captain Power toys, which is cool as heck, and people are acting like it's the end of creative play. So far we're only seeing a limited combination of features in a handful of sets, but the ability to cause bricks to behave in specific ways with physical color triggers and in response to other bricks suggests a lot of potential.
Maybe it will be a gimmick with limited depth that dies out quickly, but I've bought a half dozen minifigure scale X-wings in the last two decades, and this will be the first one that's meaningfully different from all the others. I'm glad to see something truly new.
I'm surprised that for either quality or licensing reasons they don't seem to be using official sound effects, but honestly that's a relief, as I won't feel tempted to try to upgrade legacy sets with these--at least for now.
@Troncity1 said:
"Lego makes Star Wars sets but doesn't get the license or permission to use sounds from the actual movies or series?
"
I imagine that is down to how much data can be stored on and sent from the tag to the brick.
@IgelCampus said:
"That's a very complicated way to achieve things toys have done since the 80s. For AFOLs the "shake to activate" is completely stupid, because you cannot put the brick into anything complex like a train in your city because you don't want to remove it all the time and shake it to for example have train sounds in your layout."
If the smart brick can detect the distance between itself and other smart bricks, then I can see it being used to monitor when other trains or vehicles are close and maybe do a honking horn sound, or the same thing if you have a smart brick approaching a level crossing.
@Brickalili said:
"So how limited are the bricks’ responses? If you have one that plays the Imperial March when put in a TIE fighter and Vader comes near, and you put that brick in, say, a police car instead do you now just have a police car that plays the Imperial March if Vader comes near or will it be able to make police car sounds?"
The bricks are generic and their responses are only limited by what the synthesisers and the lights can actually do, so the sounds will only cover a few pitches, for example. It is the tags and minifigures that direct them what to do, so when the brick is installed on the police car SMART Tag, I doubt it would have any response to Darth Vader coming nearby because it is probably expecting to interact with City minifigures. It may still react to Vader though!
@IgelCampus said:
"That's a very complicated way to achieve things toys have done since the 80s. For AFOLs the "shake to activate" is completely stupid, because you cannot put the brick into anything complex like a train in your city because you don't want to remove it all the time and shake it to for example have train sounds in your layout."
Once the brick is placed on a tile, it will remain active until the battery runs out, so you do not need to keep shaking it.
One of the main features of SMART is that it can empty your wallet very quickly.
What can it do? Make non-Star Wars sounds in terrible 8bit quality.
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Is there any retrospective on how the Lego community reacted to Mindstorms when it first released way back when? That's the most comparable sea change event in interactive Lego I can think of. Of course, the Internet was very different back in 1999 and I don't know how readily we can find what the"NOBODY ASKED FOR THIS" reactions were.
(As far as I can tell, Mindstorms had a respectable life as a specialized engineering teaching tool for kids. The more commercialized Mindstorms like the Droid Developer Kit and whatever that blue brick was didn't nearly last as long.)"
For context Smart play is coming out after the failures of Vidiyo, Hidden Side etc. Lego's recent history of integrating tech with Lego hasn't been great, so going all the way back to one product that had (minor) success whilst ignoring recent failures is misleading.
@Kazashimo said:
" @Veotax said:
" @Kazashimo said:
"So the only output is sound? I'm not seeing anything about it moving a motor or switching a light on for example."
Because it doesn't do that. It makes lights and sound in reaction to how it's moved and what smart tags it detects. That's it.
This isn't a new Technic hub or whatever, it's a gimmick for sets aimed at kids, not adults.
It doesn't even connect with an app, other than to update firmware.
The people freaking out about this like it's the end of the world or that it's going to ruin all sets going forward are nuts."
I'm not 'freaking out' about it, just trying to understand more about what it can do
"
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply you were. It was more a general comment about people in general, acting like this is the end of the world and it's going to 'ruin' all sets going forward or something.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @Brickalili said:
"So how limited are the bricks’ responses? If you have one that plays the Imperial March when put in a TIE fighter and Vader comes near, and you put that brick in, say, a police car instead do you now just have a police car that plays the Imperial March if Vader comes near or will it be able to make police car sounds?"
The bricks are generic and their responses are only limited by what the synthesisers and the lights can actually do, so the sounds will only cover a few pitches, for example. It is the tags and minifigures that direct them what to do, so when the brick is installed on the police car SMART Tag, I doubt it would have any response to Darth Vader coming nearby because it is probably expecting to interact with City minifigures. It may still react to Vader though!"
When you say "installed on the tag" do you mean it is physically connected or just nearby? As I can imagine some uses where if the smart brick is moving and the tags are still (or vice versa) then you could dynamically change the functions of the smart brick based on the closest tag.
I guess the biggest let down for me is if the tags are not user programmable. Being able to add your own sounds would be a big benefit. Similarly if they ever incorporate an small 8x8 light matrix that could be fun for simple displays but again would really need to have some aspect of user customisation.
It will be interesting to see where they take this. It definitely seems more interesting than Vidiyo!
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Is there any retrospective on how the Lego community reacted to Mindstorms when it first released way back when? That's the most comparable sea change event in interactive Lego I can think of. Of course, the Internet was very different back in 1999 and I don't know how readily we can find what the"NOBODY ASKED FOR THIS" reactions were.
(As far as I can tell, Mindstorms had a respectable life as a specialized engineering teaching tool for kids. The more commercialized Mindstorms like the Droid Developer Kit and whatever that blue brick was didn't nearly last as long.)"
I don't think this technology can be compared to Mindstorms, not by a long shot.
From what I've seen and heard so far it's basically just a souped up (and likely overengineered) version of the classic Light&Sound system. And at least that came with those cool current-transmitting plates.
Thank you! Actual, useful descriptions of what the brick does and how it interacts with the sets, unlike anything Lego themselves put out initially! Sounds cool, I'm sure kids will love it. I would if I was a kid still, I certainly loved the Light & Sound sets back in the day and they barely did anything in comparison! Just a shame that Lego put out such an underwhelming announcement that focused on marketing and management spiel rather than spelling out what SMART play meant.
I would love a SMART brick that would play Danny Elfman's Batman theme from 1989. For example, when the SMART minifigure of Batman is placed nearby or the Bat signal is activated.
My girlfriend (...) wanted to know what the hoopla was about, so we watched the Soiid Brix video on Youtube which explained it pretty well. The reaction of my 9 year old son (the intended demograpchic I believe) when he saw the X-wing set: "Zo, die is lelijk!" ("Wow, that is ugly!")... One down, I'd say.
I think I like the tech, but wasn't impressed with the actual 'fun' you can have with it so far (yet).
And I get the feeling the fairly chunky smart brick needs to be exposed fully to make it work, which would be a very limiting aspect. If you can't hide it and it needs to be able to move (as is the case with the X-wing): forget about it. Sets will always be ugly and that will not fly.
Oh, and the chunkiness is further chunkified by the smart tag that needs to rest underneath...
shame theyve commited so many resources to this when most kids would still prefer just play fortnite. Bring back playsets like the late 00s and upto when the sequels ended
@AgentKallus said:
""45 minutes of extremely thorough use, with lights and sounds happening all the time."
That sounds like it would put parents off!
I don't understand why they went to the effort of putting the tags in the minifigure when they could've just attached the 2x2 tiles to their backs?
I wonder if they'll sell the smart brick separately too?
"
I am surprised more people aren't reacting to this detail. I understand you can't fit a huge battery in a 2x4, but 2 hours charge for 45 minutes of battery life seems bad. Do some sets come with multiple smart bricks?
For comparison, Switch 2 can have as little as 2 hours battery on a full charge. But at least you can continue to play that while it is plugged in.
Thank you for the thorough and clear explanation for what the SMART brick actually is, and what it can do. Lego's marketing team did a very poor job of doing that.
@smarchitelli said:
"Can't wait for the typical Brickset "Polishing a turd" follow up article (rolls eyes) . . ."
affiliate money has to keep flowing to pay huws bmw...
@CC said:
" @AgentKallus said:
""45 minutes of extremely thorough use, with lights and sounds happening all the time."
That sounds like it would put parents off!
I don't understand why they went to the effort of putting the tags in the minifigure when they could've just attached the 2x2 tiles to their backs?
I wonder if they'll sell the smart brick separately too?
"
I am surprised more people aren't reacting to this detail. I understand you can't fit a huge battery in a 2x4, but 2 hours charge for 45 minutes of battery life seems bad. Do some sets come with multiple smart bricks?
For comparison, Switch 2 can have as little as 2 hours battery on a full charge. But at least you can continue to play that while it is plugged in."
That is 45 minutes of heavy constant use though, with lights and sounds going all the time. I imagine many kids will get bored with it doing the same thing continuously. If they change their play so that it is only on for 5 seconds out of every 10, then the battery life is extended to 1.5 hours. If the siren of a police car only goes off near certain minifigures or traffic lights, it could last for hours of play.
“People could only disagree with me if they’re being paid, because my subjective opinions are perfect objective fact.”
Given that I assume everyone here is either an adult or close to it, it is well past time for everyone here to understand that sincere disagreement is possible. Even if you think it’s really stupid! There are people out there who persist in thinking Star Trek: Into Darkness is a good film and I just have to live with that and respect that they’re entitled to their opinions. Same for person-like-lego-thing-you-don’t-like.
@CCC said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
" @Brickalili said:
"So how limited are the bricks’ responses? If you have one that plays the Imperial March when put in a TIE fighter and Vader comes near, and you put that brick in, say, a police car instead do you now just have a police car that plays the Imperial March if Vader comes near or will it be able to make police car sounds?"
The bricks are generic and their responses are only limited by what the synthesisers and the lights can actually do, so the sounds will only cover a few pitches, for example. It is the tags and minifigures that direct them what to do, so when the brick is installed on the police car SMART Tag, I doubt it would have any response to Darth Vader coming nearby because it is probably expecting to interact with City minifigures. It may still react to Vader though!"
When you say "installed on the tag" do you mean it is physically connected or just nearby? As I can imagine some uses where if the smart brick is moving and the tags are still (or vice versa) then you could dynamically change the functions of the smart brick based on the closest tag."
From what I have seen, the tag needs to be very nearby, within a centimetre or two. Perhaps they function further away though and the presenters just did not show that.
@Veotax said:
" @Kazashimo said:
" @Veotax said:
" @Kazashimo said:
"So the only output is sound? I'm not seeing anything about it moving a motor or switching a light on for example."
Because it doesn't do that. It makes lights and sound in reaction to how it's moved and what smart tags it detects. That's it.
This isn't a new Technic hub or whatever, it's a gimmick for sets aimed at kids, not adults.
It doesn't even connect with an app, other than to update firmware.
The people freaking out about this like it's the end of the world or that it's going to ruin all sets going forward are nuts."
I'm not 'freaking out' about it, just trying to understand more about what it can do
"
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply you were. It was more a general comment about people in general, acting like this is the end of the world and it's going to 'ruin' all sets going forward or something."
No worries
I'm also very upset that Lego hasn't provided ADULT fans the full functionality of a next-generation Mindstorms set inside a 2x4 brick.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @IgelCampus said:
"That's a very complicated way to achieve things toys have done since the 80s. For AFOLs the "shake to activate" is completely stupid, because you cannot put the brick into anything complex like a train in your city because you don't want to remove it all the time and shake it to for example have train sounds in your layout."
Once the brick is placed on a tile, it will remain active until the battery runs out, so you do not need to keep shaking it."
Of course but that's not the point I was trying to make. If you want to put them into a more complex setup, like a train or some stationary building, you simply can't, because removing them whenever you want them to function (because you need to shake them) is not feasable. Just imagine the old power functions would need to be shaken to be enabled. It's just a stupid oversight if they omitted any kind of manual start possibility like a button.
@CapnRex101 said:
" I asked one of the designers whether they had considered producing a brick with a motor or another means of activating physical functions and it sounds like that is a future possibility. I believe there would be utility in having a brick with a simple motor in place of functions found in the standard SMART Brick."
The best possible functionality would be for this to act like a universal, multi-senor, wireless trigger device for motors, hubs & battery boxes. That would be cool. But no, we're stuck with gimmicky, pointless sound effects.
Nice new x-wing canopy that accurately gets narrower towards the front. Hope they bring it back in future sets as I need to find a way to get one for my MOC.
Reading the comments on the Smart Play / Smart Brick is far more entertaining and enjoyable than learning about its functions and play sets.
At least Lego is willing to experiment and see which tech sets will work. The Vidiyo theme looked better on paper than in reality, while Hidden Side was fun but required a phone or tablet to play. Still, Hidden Side had great sets that could sell well even without the tech gimmick. The Super Mario theme, on the other hand, seems like a real hit.
Only time will tell if Smart Play theme will sell or not but it has more potential than Vidiyo and Hidden Side.
It is nice to understand a bit more of what it does. It still seems unnecessary, as @Yooha mentioned above, I reckon most kids are pretty good at making the "pew-pew!" sounds with their mouths. Adults too, for that matter ;)
Mindstorms was different because it was a dedicated tech set. The only downside I could see that would affect me as an AFOL would be if this tech started to creep it's way into all themes, raising prices across the board. As long as it stays limited to a small amount of dedicated sets, I have no issue.
@AgentKallus said:
""45 minutes of extremely thorough use, with lights and sounds happening all the time."
That sounds like it would put parents off!
I don't understand why they went to the effort of putting the tags in the minifigure when they could've just attached the 2x2 tiles to their backs?
I wonder if they'll sell the smart brick separately too?
"If you had to attach tiles to minifigures then you would no longer be able to interact with the minifig in a normal way (put accessories on, take them in and out of vehicles, sit them on chairs, etc)
That said the R2-D2 does use a tile and I expect other non-minifigure figures will too.
So, two bricks per charger, and a 2-hour charge cycle, but you only get 45 minutes out of each brick before it needs to be recharged. So, mandatory half hour break for every two hours of use?
It seems overly complicated for what it is. It reminds me of the old Light and Sound system from the late ’80s, which felt much better implemented in the Lego model. I wonder if these Smart Play beeping sounds will also agonise parents until they beg their children to stop playing. I don’t know what to think about it, feels a bit outdated.
The current sound and light bricks have a little plastic tab that you need to pull out after you take it out of the box in order for it to work. It’s possible this has something like that in order for it to not be activated before purchase. It’s a simple solution they’ve already done, so I really wouldn’t worry so much about that.
@inversion said:
"As I understand the brick does not have pre-recorded sounds, everything is synthetic and is generated based on a code that the brick reads in from the tags / smart figures. Hence the brick is also universal, and not tied to sets. It is the tags and figures that give the set-specific input."
That is actually pretty cool, because it means - at least theoretically - that you can make your own sounds via custom tags, as long as you know how the code works.
Ideally, Lego will share some instructions on this in the future, although they will probably be very reluctant to do so. Having a video go viral of a Lego brick shouting obscenities or playing soundbites from Hitler speeches isn't exactly high on their PR department's bucket list for 2026...
But I suppose, inevitably, some smart folks will reverse-engineer the tech behind it.
I guess I’m the only person who misses the old 9V light and sound bricks and has been waiting on something like this for a long while.
Feels like a modern replay of 6450 6480 6780.
If the sounds are not prerecorded but generated by code, is there anything to stop someone producing their own tag with their own code … and getting the brick to make a sound that perhaps LEGO might not want it to? The flip side is also a concern though: if this is protected against, then where’s the creativity if the sounds are limited to those LEGO would like you to hear?
Does LEGO intend to continuously update and improve the technology within the SMART brick? If so, how would we tell an old SMART brick from a more advanced one?
"The brick turns on when shaken, which could happen during transit before the set has even been purchased."
Given the state of the Lego boxes I've received lately, the brick would undoubtedly have lost its charge.... and structural integrity.
Cap'n forgot to mention BRICK's ability to determine relative worth of human subject- i.e., whether money is available in account.
@jsutton said:
"Feels like a modern replay of 6450 6480 6780.
If the sounds are not prerecorded but generated by code, is there anything to stop someone producing their own tag with their own code … and getting the brick to make a sound that perhaps LEGO might not want it to? The flip side is also a concern though: if this is protected against, then where’s the creativity if the sounds are limited to those LEGO would like you to hear?"
If the smart tiles are RFID then they can be read with a simple reader. I assume the sounds will be coded as a list of frequency and duration or some other similar data to reconstruct the sound and if so the sound format is likely to be cracked quite quickly. So long as there is not some hidden checksum, it would probably be possible to write your own data to RFID tags to transmit sounds. I'm glad I got a lot of the writable Dimensions tags when they were cheap, they could be fun to play with if this is possible. Although I doubt complex or long sounds will be possible given the low data storage on tags.
@CC said:
" @AgentKallus said:
""45 minutes of extremely thorough use, with lights and sounds happening all the time."
That sounds like it would put parents off!
I don't understand why they went to the effort of putting the tags in the minifigure when they could've just attached the 2x2 tiles to their backs?
I wonder if they'll sell the smart brick separately too?
"
I am surprised more people aren't reacting to this detail. I understand you can't fit a huge battery in a 2x4, but 2 hours charge for 45 minutes of battery life seems bad. Do some sets come with multiple smart bricks?
For comparison, Switch 2 can have as little as 2 hours battery on a full charge. But at least you can continue to play that while it is plugged in."
Throne Room Duel comes with two smart bricks, can expect other big sets will too. They might also sell the bricks separately. I can see an accessory pack with a smart brick and charger being useful for those who need more or want to replace broken ones without having to buy a full starter set.
Yes, it’s kinda cool.
Will it make sets overpriced? Probably.
Is it only going to last a couple of years? Probably.
Is it a gimmick? Definitely.
@Kazashimo said:
"So the only output is sound? I'm not seeing anything about it moving a motor or switching a light on for example."
Yes! We want redstone output of varying signal strengths when the brick is turned by anywhere from 12-57 degrees in the zy planar direction!
I have to question the decision making at Lego if they think this is going to be anything other than a gimmick that kids will quickly tire of and sales will be flat. The sounds it emits are muffled and in the Star Wars sets, it doesn’t even sound like anything from the movies.
I read somewhere that Lego say this is the biggest innovation since the minifig?
@mf_4504 said:
"Does LEGO intend to continuously update and improve the technology within the SMART brick? If so, how would we tell an old SMART brick from a more advanced one?"
All the Smart bricks we've seen so far have been black. Newer generation hardware would just have to be a different color. I however do not expect newer Smart bricks to happen anytime soon given that it needs to be universal for the play system to work. These kind of custom highly integrated systems also cost a lot of money to develop, so it's not worth making a newer one until they feel really limited by the current one AND the state of technology has advanced enough that investing into a new generation would give them significant room to grow.
In other words, I would expect generational upgrades maybe every 10 years or such, not continuous small upgrades.
I guess they could have made it so that the area where the smart bricks go doesn't look so bad.
@CCC said:
" @Troncity1 said:
"Lego makes Star Wars sets but doesn't get the license or permission to use sounds from the actual movies or series?
"
I imagine that is down to how much data can be stored on and sent from the tag to the brick.
"
Yeah, using synthesis instead of prerecorded sounds saves a lot of space, but it also enables the timbre of the sounds to be adjusted dynamically (e.g. swoosh sounds reacts to how fast you swoosh around) which makes your interactions more reactive.
Also, while it's kind of a bummer the synthesizer isn't capable enough to recrate the iconic Star Wars sounds in high fidelity their more abstract nature makes them easier to reuse elsewhere.
Watching a bunch of AFOLs rant about the SMART Brick is like watching seniors rant about Fortnite.
@CapnRex101 said:
"I asked one of the designers whether they had considered producing a brick with a motor or another means of activating physical functions and it sounds like that is a future possibility. I believe there would be utility in having a brick with a simple motor in place of functions found in the standard SMART Brick."
That's an entirely different use case. It would require a much larger brick to house the motor and a larger battery.
@CapnRex101 said:
"From what I have seen, the tag needs to be very nearby, within a centimetre or two."
They appear to use NFC technology. There's no battery in the tags, so it needs to be close, typically less than 10cm/ 4" away.
@IgelCampus said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
" @IgelCampus said:
"That's a very complicated way to achieve things toys have done since the 80s. For AFOLs the "shake to activate" is completely stupid, because you cannot put the brick into anything complex like a train in your city because you don't want to remove it all the time and shake it to for example have train sounds in your layout."
Once the brick is placed on a tile, it will remain active until the battery runs out, so you do not need to keep shaking it."
Of course but that's not the point I was trying to make. If you want to put them into a more complex setup, like a train or some stationary building, you simply can't, because removing them whenever you want them to function (because you need to shake them) is not feasable. Just imagine the old power functions would need to be shaken to be enabled. It's just a stupid oversight if they omitted any kind of manual start possibility like a button."
Yes, but you do not have to shake the brick to activate every function. You shake it once to turn it on at the beginning, just like flipping the switch on a Power Functions battery box. From there, functions are activated automatically as the brick comes into contact with different tags and detects colours, similar to how the lasers are activated on the Star Wars vehicles.
I think there is a very good chance there will be a SMART Play train released at some point, in which case I can imagine one SMART Brick on the train with buttons to activate a horn and other sounds, while another remains trackside and tracks where the train is, activating lights and sounds as the train passes certain features. It is still limited though, without the ability to control physical functions like lowering level crossing barriers.
@Duq said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
"I asked one of the designers whether they had considered producing a brick with a motor or another means of activating physical functions and it sounds like that is a future possibility. I believe there would be utility in having a brick with a simple motor in place of functions found in the standard SMART Brick."
That's an entirely different use case. It would require a much larger brick to house the motor and a larger battery."
True. I suppose it could be a separate motor able to respond to the colour of a nearby SMART Brick, in which case it would only need to house a colour sensor, a battery and a motor, which could probably be made pretty small.
For what it's worth, I have no interest in this, and yes, kids can make noises with their mouths, but the kid in me really likes the idea of having a Lego set respond to what I do with it. Light bricks and sound bricks felt very cool when I was young, so I can imagine this being received similarly by kids.
It is a shame they didn't design the sets to look a little better though, considering they clearly went to a lot of effort to make the technology somewhat unobtrusive and easy to work with. I am curious if they have to be exposed or if this was a choice made to make swapping easy.
I am curious if future waves (City?) will make better use of it - I can see one being included in a Fire Station for example, to make various noises like helicopters and alarms.
I will not be buying any of these, I don't really buy Star Wars as it is, but if they end up being as poorly received as many seem to think, I might grab one if it goes on deep clearance, for the novelty.
After watching quite a few reviews and demos and big words about being the NEXT BIG THING it feels so... underwhelming. The sound quality seems like a bad toy from the 90s, the compromises with the builds make them look awful and the prices are atrocious. Yes, I know it's for kids and not for me. But in the year 2026 kids have a hundred better option cheaper or even for free, I really don't see much future to this.
@CCC said:
"When you say "installed on the tag" do you mean it is physically connected or just nearby? As I can imagine some uses where if the smart brick is moving and the tags are still (or vice versa) then you could dynamically change the functions of the smart brick based on the closest tag."
If you look at the photos of the sets, there are red 2x2 tiles with Mario-style stickers on them, which should be the tag tiles. When these are placed on a vehicle or piece of scenery, there’s a red 2x2 plate w/ 2 studs right next to it, to hold the Smart Brick in place. On the lightsaber duel control yokes, the chip tile has two rows of two studs on either side, probably because it’s expected to move more vigorously. When the brick is placed on one of these mounting rigs, it tells the brick, “You’re an X-Wing,” or “You’re a lightsaber.” From there, it’s going to have item-specific programming to tell it what kind of sounds to generate (no sirens on the X-Wing, no engine sounds on the lightsaber, no sword-fighting sounds on the cop car, etc.). Artoo also has a code tile mounted to the back of that new torso that everyone currently thinks they’re in love with (that’ll change pretty soon), but there’s no studs to mount the Smart Brick to, so it’s going to have to detect character tags in relation to item tags, and only react to the characters if they’re located in the proper relation to the item. If Artoo is a foot away from the X-Wing, it shouldn’t play his scream when the X-Wing does a barrel roll.
I still don't get it.
"But it's for kids".
Yes, we know that but so far Lego has done a PR and event at CES targeted towards adults. Clearly Lego's aim is to get AFOLs excited to buy them for their children. AFOL sites are being given access to play test.
Lego are clearly spending big money on this, and using a big licence to sell the technology. Roping in SW Dave Filoni (who makes all the children's SW shows) shows how much effort everyone is putting into it.
There will be non-licenced sets in the future, but whereas previous attempts were new themes, Lego is using existing themes.
I'm interested in getting hold of one of these, but maybe not in a Star Wars set. Kinda hope they release it standalone, or in a small promo type set.
It's good to see one of their many attempts at integrating digital play that works as a self-contained system, rather than relying on an app. And (at least, based on the Disney-tax Star Wars prices), it looks like it doesn't bump up the set prices too much, either.
Hey anyone else getting CommTech Chip vibes?
@pedro_lego said:
"I still don't get it."
Light & Sound System and Lego Mario had a baby.
The technology of this? Amazing. The integration, Abysmal. They were very proud of the 'focussed sound' these things make, but tiny speakers inside plastic are never going to sound good, even the sound out of a smartphone still isn't clear these days.
Other Hasbro toys on the market have done this better, look at those comm-link chips back when episode 1 came out.. I had hundreds of them on a chain they were great fun. But this, I know it's aimed at kids, but I think they'd get bored of it after 30 mins of play, and at that price, it's a failure.
Great idea, but poor execution + advertisement and promotional branding.
"Also, the brick is designed to retain battery life out of the box, so children will not have to wait for it to charge after building the set, which would obviously be a major problem."
Don't children have self control anymore? Gleeful anticipation? Or are they nothing more than mere animals, victims of their uncontrollable impulses of greed?
When I read this the brick is doing the playing for you,. It plays the music, makes the sounds leaving you without making the Ta ta tataaa music and the piew piew we love to make.
As the reviewer notices this could be cool but not in this set. Having 45 minutes of use isn't great either.
I would add 3 more "features" the Smart Play will do:
1. Artificially inflate the already ridiculous set prices
2. Make the sets look worse (even compared to the usual 4+ sets)
3. Not appeal to AFOL's or SW collectors at all
@MegaBlocks said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Is there any retrospective on how the Lego community reacted to Mindstorms when it first released way back when? That's the most comparable sea change event in interactive Lego I can think of. Of course, the Internet was very different back in 1999 and I don't know how readily we can find what the"NOBODY ASKED FOR THIS" reactions were.
(As far as I can tell, Mindstorms had a respectable life as a specialized engineering teaching tool for kids. The more commercialized Mindstorms like the Droid Developer Kit and whatever that blue brick was didn't nearly last as long.)"
For context Smart play is coming out after the failures of Vidiyo, Hidden Side etc. Lego's recent history of integrating tech with Lego hasn't been great, so going all the way back to one product that had (minor) success whilst ignoring recent failures is misleading."
Who's being *misleading*? I'm asking how the world reacted to Mindstorms.
I could also have brought up Dimensions, which is an odd duck. That one is much more complicated than "kids didn't like it" and there's various analyses that blame its fate on a combination of price and marketing.
Reminds me of the Action Bricks from Duplo train sets. Of course, we never did get one of the interactive trains, but my kids had a couple of track sets that had these weird oblong things which fit between the rails of the tracks.
@alLEGOry_HJB2810 said:
" @Kazashimo said:
"So the only output is sound? I'm not seeing anything about it moving a motor or switching a light on for example."
Yes! We want redstone output of varying signal strengths when the brick is turned by anywhere from 12-57 degrees in the zy planar direction!"
And why not?
There's a gyro inside which has all this information.
The bricks are able to sense each other and maybe even comunicate, so there's already a data protocol.
They just drop al this information the brick has and can communicate for.... bleeerp! pew pew. *annoying flashing*
If they deliver a more sophisticated, programmable brick, like a Mindstorms brick, which is able to use all this information; granted, then it's pretty cool.
But we all know that Lego will NEVER do this, so.
Edit:
I have to correct myself. They probably do not communicate with each other but see the other brick as just another RFID/NFC tag and can react to it.
I also don't think the bricks can know what the other brick is "acting as", so "X Wing meet TIE" could be differentiated from "X Wing meet Lightsaber"
So it's just... not very advanced technology?
@Veotax said:
" @Kazashimo said:
"So the only output is sound? I'm not seeing anything about it moving a motor or switching a light on for example."
Because it doesn't do that. It makes lights and sound in reaction to how it's moved and what smart tags it detects. That's it.
This isn't a new Technic hub or whatever, it's a gimmick for sets aimed at kids, not adults.
It doesn't even connect with an app, other than to update firmware.
The people freaking out about this like it's the end of the world or that it's going to ruin all sets going forward are nuts."
I haven’t seen anyone freaking out over it…unless you call people estimating its demise “freaking out.”
@WokePope said:
"Hey anyone else getting CommTech Chip vibes?"
Forgot the name, but that’s exactly what I’ve been using to try to explain these, both here and to my LUG.
While I'm not a fan of Lego apps, with this I do think an app could've made it better.
If I could upload my own sounds, change LED colours or customize some action rules via the app - it could've been used for more than one factory made settings. For the Mario theme it made sense to keep "closed", as it was its own world, but that brick could've been retro fitted to a set from 1990, and indeed bring it to life via customization. I could even record myself making "whoosshh" and have it play this.
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Who's being *misleading*? I'm asking how the world reacted to Mindstorms.
I could also have brought up Dimensions, which is an odd duck. That one is much more complicated than "kids didn't like it" and there's various analyses that blame its fate on a combination of price and marketing."
Simply put there are much more recent themes to look at, and they give a much better predictor of performance.
Lego Dimensions, I would argue, targeted a different market and audience. It was Lego's entry into the Toys-to-Life video game genre (Skylanders, Amiibo, Disney Infinity etc), and really focused on the success of the game rather than the add-ons which were the toys.
@Spacefarer said:
"What can it do? Make non-Star Wars sounds in terrible 8bit quality."
As someone who is part of the 8-bit community, I must protest - 8-bit sounds *tons* better than the stuff coming from the Smart Brick. The sounds Lego has are much closer to 4-bit. You'd be surprised with the Commodore 64 SID sound chip is capable of. 8-bit tunes and even voice synthesis from back in the 1980s sounds quite impressive, even in 2026!
@elangab said:
"While I'm not a fan of Lego apps, with this I do think an app could've made it better.
If I could upload my own sounds, change LED colours or customize some action rules via the app - it could've been used for more than one factory made settings. For the Mario theme it made sense to keep "closed", as it was its own world, but that brick could've been retro fitted to a set from 1990, and indeed bring it to life via customization. I could even record myself making "whoosshh" and have it play this."
There's nothing preventing that in the future I would think. Presumably these update via bluetooth just like Mario does. I find this tech very interesting, though I'm not sure how much I want it permeating my Lego.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @Troncity1 said:
"Lego makes Star Wars sets but doesn't get the license or permission to use sounds from the actual movies or series?
I was expecting proper x wing sounds and Jizz music for the cantina. https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jizz
https://youtu.be/nSRwzP23ifI?si=oUU-bB1YqXRuDL63
Voice clips wound have been amazing.
Could have had an Anakin set talking about how he doesn't like sand.
A big let down."
I was also anticipating more Star Wars-specific sounds and dialogue, but it is not a case of failing to get permission to use them. The sounds are not pre-recorded, but generated by synthesisers in the brick.
While it would be impossible to create completely accurate sounds and dialogue using the synthesisers, the designers also wanted to avoid pre-recorded dialogue because sets would need to be language-specific."
Not sure I’d want to hear ‘jizz music’.
@PurpleDave said:
" @WokePope said:
"Hey anyone else getting CommTech Chip vibes?"
Forgot the name, but that’s exactly what I’ve been using to try to explain these, both here and to my LUG."
I was a teen when Episode 1 figures hit, and I was SUPER excited for the new technology. Sure, the figures cost $2 more than they used to, but now they had COMMTECH CHIPS.
When I heard the voice clips on the Internet, though, I thought it was a joke. No WAY could they possibly sound so bad. I never ended up buying a CommTech reader, despite being totally on-board the merch hype train for Episode 1, and I can still remember the damn things clogging up the clearance endcaps at Wal-Mart after a few months.
I'm going to have to ASSUME these smart bricks don't sound as crappy as some tech from 26 years ago did, but the vibes of "IT COSTS MORE BECAUSE IT IS SO TECH!!! A NEW ERA OF SMART PLAY!!!" are very much the same.
So what's the tech that's supposed to be so innovative? It sounds like an accelerometer, RFID sensor, speaker, and lights. It could be cool, but nothing sounds particularly new or interesting.
I'm also very skeptical of the claims that AFOL just don't get it because it's designed for kids. Have you met a kid under 10 recently? I have two. They want to play video games. They're interested in Lego because I have a lot, but given a choice they'll pick Minecraft every time. Putting some lights and sounds in their Lego isn't going to change that. I'm sure that there are kids who are really into Lego, but they're already into Lego.
I hope that these will be programmable.
@ulibu said:
" @alLEGOry_HJB2810 said:
" @Kazashimo said:
"So the only output is sound? I'm not seeing anything about it moving a motor or switching a light on for example."
Yes! We want redstone output of varying signal strengths when the brick is turned by anywhere from 12-57 degrees in the zy planar direction!"
And why not?
There's a gyro inside which has all this information.
The bricks are able to sense each other and maybe even comunicate, so there's already a data protocol.
They just drop al this information the brick has and can communicate for.... bleeerp! pew pew. *annoying flashing*
If they deliver a more sophisticated, programmable brick, like a Mindstorms brick, which is able to use all this information; granted, then it's pretty cool.
But we all know that Lego will NEVER do this, so.
Edit:
I have to correct myself. They probably do not communicate with each other but see the other brick as just another RFID/NFC tag and can react to it.
I also don't think the bricks can know what the other brick is "acting as", so "X Wing meet TIE" could be differentiated from "X Wing meet Lightsaber"
So it's just... not very advanced technology?"
The Smart bricks can communicate through some form of Bluetooth network. The Smart tiles and minifigures are passive.
@PurpleDave said:
" @WokePope said:
"Hey anyone else getting CommTech Chip vibes?"
Forgot the name, but that’s exactly what I’ve been using to try to explain these, both here and to my LUG."
The fact you forgot their name is telling :-)
The only complaint I have is that the charging pads are in every set. I feel like I might end up with a few.
But otherwise I'm excited! These look so interesting!
Sorry but for me is a feature I will not use. Hope the price of the sets will not increase.
Had the same vibes.
Seen a few videos of this now along with the article. Maybe I’m wrong but given what the Smart Brick does and the cost of the sets it features in (especially comparing it to other toys that use similar features) I feel like LEGO may have really missed the mark here.
@vjl said:
" @Spacefarer said:
"What can it do? Make non-Star Wars sounds in terrible 8bit quality."
As someone who is part of the 8-bit community, I must protest - 8-bit sounds *tons* better than the stuff coming from the Smart Brick. The sounds Lego has are much closer to 4-bit. You'd be surprised with the Commodore 64 SID sound chip is capable of. 8-bit tunes and even voice synthesis from back in the 1980s sounds quite impressive, even in 2026!"
Forgive me! I'm not a sound tech expert by any means. No harm no foul?
@CCC said:
"It will be interesting to see where they take this. It definitely seems more interesting than Vidiyo!"
Were you *trying* to damn with faint praise?
@xoddam said:"Nice new x-wing canopy that accurately gets narrower towards the front. Hope they bring it back in future sets as I need to find a way to get one for my MOC."
Sadistic choice: You can either have that or the Snowspeeder canopy from 75414 in standard Snowspeeder colors. Which do you choose?
@PurpleDave said:"So, two bricks per charger, and a 2-hour charge cycle, but you only get 45 minutes out of each brick before it needs to be recharged. So, mandatory half hour break for every two hours of use?"
The article said "extremely thorough use." Kids probably aren't going to have it lighting up and making sound for forty-five minutes straight.
@peterlmorris said:"I guess I’m the only person who misses the old 9V light and sound bricks and has been waiting on something like this for a long while. "
I loved those sets, but I haven't been champing at the bit for a replacement.
@ulibu said:""Also, the brick is designed to retain battery life out of the box, so children will not have to wait for it to charge after building the set, which would obviously be a major problem."
Don't children have self control anymore? Gleeful anticipation? Or are they nothing more than mere animals, victims of their uncontrollable impulses of greed?"
Not having to charge your device before you can use it is preferable no matter your age and level of self-control.
@LachlanA said:"The only complaint I have is that the charging pads are in every set. I feel like I might end up with a few.
But otherwise I'm excited! These look so interesting!"
Better to end up with a few because they're in every set then have to buy a set you're not interested in because that's the only way to get a charger.
@MegaBlocks said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"Who's being *misleading*? I'm asking how the world reacted to Mindstorms.
I could also have brought up Dimensions, which is an odd duck. That one is much more complicated than "kids didn't like it" and there's various analyses that blame its fate on a combination of price and marketing."
Simply put there are much more recent themes to look at, and they give a much better predictor of performance.
Lego Dimensions, I would argue, targeted a different market and audience. It was Lego's entry into the Toys-to-Life video game genre (Skylanders, Amiibo, Disney Infinity etc), and really focused on the success of the game rather than the add-ons which were the toys."
Okay, but there's better ways to argue about my Mindstorms question than to argue I'm "misleading." Look, don't go out it your way to insult me for asking a question I was curious about.
@PurpleDave said:
"So, two bricks per charger, and a 2-hour charge cycle, but you only get 45 minutes out of each brick before it needs to be recharged. So, mandatory half hour break for every two hours of use?"
For the sanity of the parents.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @xoddam said:"Nice new x-wing canopy that accurately gets narrower towards the front. Hope they bring it back in future sets as I need to find a way to get one for my MOC."
Sadistic choice: You can either have that or the Snowspeeder canopy from 75414 in standard Snowspeeder colors. Which do you choose?"
The canopy from 75414, every time. That's an amazing dual-molded part that's ideally shaped, proportioned, and sized to represent the film vehicle and fit two minifigs underneath. The new windscreen on the Smart Brick X-wing has three-axis taper for the first time, but its proportions and size make it unsuitable for screen-accurate X-wing MOCs.
@LachlanA said:
"The only complaint I have is that the charging pads are in every set. I feel like I might end up with a few."
You can feel better about the ecological impact if you wrap the extra charging pads inside Lego's new non-recyclable plastic-infused "paper" bags before you throw them away. At least they will head to the landfill in the greenest of all possible packaging.
@Spacefarer said:
" @vjl said:
" @Spacefarer said:
"What can it do? Make non-Star Wars sounds in terrible 8bit quality."
As someone who is part of the 8-bit community, I must protest - 8-bit sounds *tons* better than the stuff coming from the Smart Brick. The sounds Lego has are much closer to 4-bit. You'd be surprised with the Commodore 64 SID sound chip is capable of. 8-bit tunes and even voice synthesis from back in the 1980s sounds quite impressive, even in 2026!"
Forgive me! I'm not a sound tech expert by any means. No harm no foul?"
I most certainly should have put a smiley face after "I must protest!" :) No harm at all! My comment was the equivalent of saying that "Lego isn't a toy - it's a highly sophisticated interlocking brick system" [2014 Lego Movie quote :) ].
But 8-bit sound really does sound better than whatever it is Lego put in their Smart Brick! [this is just a random result from a web search - about a 1 minute video that gets better about 1/2 way in - all generated by different versions of the 8-bit Commodore 64 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9oJHCpZw70
These comments are both predictable and predictably disappointing.
@Montyh7 said:
"These comments are both predictable and predictably disappointing. "
Case in point ^.
It can make a $20-$30 set into a $50-$90 set.
"What does it do?"
"IT GENERATES HYPE!"
@WokePope:
I did buy the reader. I was already trying to buy every action figure they released (and had basically been successful until the point where collecting LEGO Star Wars sets made me severely curtail my action figure purchasing), I was not on a teenager's budget, and there was no way I was going to end up with all of those chipped stands and not listen to every single sound clip.
@El_gordo:
Well, as I've also said, as I bought new action figures from the line, I basically used the reader to play every clip at least once, then put the stands in a box and never took them out again. In the same way, I almost never listend to a DVD commentary track twice, but I do listen to them all once if they're included on a DVD I buy.
@LachlanA:
The pads are in every set that comes with a Smart Brick. So far, that's three sets that yield a total of at least four bricks (the lightsaber duel obviously comes with two). You'd need a 2:1 or lower ratio to keep every brick charged between uses. If you really want to go gangbusters, you'd need a 3:1 ratio for every model you want to equip with a brick, so you can have two waiting in the wings (this would get agonizingly tedious if you went all in with a public display).
Presumably, there could be less expensive sets later on that only include the chipped elements, but no bricks. This would be more likely to happen with chipped minifigs than chipped models, since the chipped tiles built into models appear to all be set up for the brick to be semi-permanently installed on top of them. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if they plan to do an entire CMF wave with chipped minifigs.
@Hiratha said:
"There are people out there who persist in thinking Star Trek: Into Darkness is a good film and I just have to live with that and respect that they’re entitled to their opinions. Same for person-like-lego-thing-you-don’t-like."
I could not agree more, if by Star Trek: Into Darkness you mean The Last Jedi and by live with that you mean actively despair and by respect you mean pity and by opinions you mean fever dreams. :o)
@gunther_schnitzel said:
"Not sure I’d want to hear ‘jizz music’."
That was an unfortunate name to pick. Clearly, they wanted to evoke the idea of jazz music, without actually using a term so mundane as "jazz", so they came up with a sound-alike word, and just happened to pick the worst possible option. Kind of like how the youth of today just picked a terrible, pre-existing term to describe the act of sitting on a commercial flight and staring at the seat back with nothing to keep you occupied during the trip.
All in all the tech here is pretty impressive but the exact execution kinda falls flat. A few small changes that I think would make it more appealing:
Sell the bricks separately from the actual models. One of the biggest complains I've seen so far is the price, and the best comparison to this system we have is the LEGO Mario line. The Mario sets have done so well the last 5 years because even though Mario himself is quite expensive he's a one-time purchase, then you can enjoy the other sets at typically price points. I think a separate kit with just a charger and 2 bricks that you could combine with a variety of $20-30 starter sets would do a better job of encouraging people to try it out. This has the benefit that poorer families can at least get one kit and start messing with it, while allowing richer families to get a bunch to keep many models active at a time.
Use more tag colors. Again, a thing the Mario sets did well was putting the scanable bar codes on different color tiles depending on what color the set was. If they did something like a white tile in the X Wing or black tile in the TIE it would blend in better and feel less obnoxious. Unlike the bright red play feature markers on other sets there is no option to simply swap it out for a better color, it looks like red is missing the brick won't know its supposed to be scanning a tile, and those stickers probably come pre-applied.
They really shouldn't of started with Star Wars. With how adaptable they have described this brick it really should have debuted with Creator or the like. Include 1 brick, a bunch of tiles, and a bunch of loose parts to let people go wild and experiment with different functions. Star Wars has such iconic sounds the brick cannot replicate, and a lot of models despite their price seem to only have one or two gimmick interactions.
A few stuff from this article that stand out to me:
2 hours of charge time for just 45 minutes of play isn’t the best. Sounds like you’d have to cycle them out continuously.
“I wonder whether it can detect being switched on in total darkness and switches off quickly under those circumstances, 'thinking' it is still in the box.”
Oh, that actually quite concerns me. One of the big benefits of light up toys is they look so cool in low light conditions. Playing LEGO Dimensions with the lights off is a totally different vibe than with them on, it just looks so cool.
“The colour sensor is able to recognise red, blue, green and yellow LEGO pieces, with a relatively wide scope, so similar shades are not currently distinguished.”
Already worse color detection than Mario, that’s a concern.
“detect precise direction over roughly 80cm and they are aware of each other five metres apart.”
Five meters is a decent pairing distance, but not even a meter of full interactivity is pretty limiting. Kids who run around a lot or are playing with others are definitely going to get out of range constantly.
As someone who loves light up parts in LEGO models I've gotten sick of the only proper light bricks being yellow and red, so something like this could be a cool opportunity to add more flashiness to builds, but right now the price and available functions still feel kinda limited.
@GSR_MataNui:
The system works with RFID chips, so the tile color, and the sticker itself, are immaterial to the process other than that they help the user identify which tiles have chips, and what they're encoded with. The brick itself covers them up when in use, and the lack of brick is pretty glaring regardless of what color the tiles happen to be. I don't know that changing the color would really make much of a difference, other than making it more difficult to spot where you've got an open code tile. The Mario code tiles have to remain visible for gameplay, so making them different colors makes a certain amount of sense, beyond that the majority of the surface is covered in a white sticker.
And yes, these stickers look exactly like the same "more durable than print", pre-applied stickers used for the Mario code tiles. Can't risk the sticker being paired with the wrong chip, or a standard tile, so preapplying them would basically eliminate that sort of error.
I don't think the brick even senses the color of the tile. The top surface is almost completely hidden by a white sticker, the sides can be buried inside the model, and the black plates on either side of the lightsaber duel tiles proves that the red 2x2 plates that are generally paired with the code tiles are immaterial to the process. You shake the brick to turn it on, at which point it's going to start broadcasting. Get a code tile close enough, and proximity is what's going to trigger the reaction. It can sense relative position and facing, which would only be possible by sight if it has cameras facing in all six directions. And once you plonk that brick down on top of a code tile, you'd also need a downward-facing light source because you're going to be blocking the ambient light with the brick.
The choice of Star Wars makes a lot of sense. Hidden Side and Vidiyo, besides being app-dependent, were brand new themes that had zero market inertia. Star Wars is a sales juggernaut for TLG. People are going to buy these sets to stay complete for the theme, they're going to buy these sets to maintain a complete set of minifigs, and they're going to buy these sets just because they're kid-friendly designs in the vein of the 4+ subtheme. In doing so, they're going to wind up with some of the Smart Brick technology to tinker with, and may find they like it after all. The less loyal the customer base, the more likely people will be to simply pass on the sets that include the tech and opt for the ones that don't.
The Mario characters have to be placed directly on top of the code tiles to scan them, and I'd assume they have to be in close proximity to terrain elements to react to them as well. This might simplify some of the variables involved. The Smart Brick sounds like it can react to other colors from a distance, where there's less control over the lighting. And Mario also reacts to very specific colors, not a range of shades of the same color, so I'm not sure I'd say this is less advanced.
@WokePope said: "I'm going to have to ASSUME these smart bricks don't sound as crappy as some tech from 26 years ago did"
Try 126 years ago. In the Cantina Band demo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcUTjId-CBo), the little sound you can hear behind the rattling plastic sounds exactly like some kid winding a jack-in-the-box.
@gunther_schnitzel said: "Not sure I’d want to hear ‘jizz music’"
If I had the Cantina Band figures, it would be rally tempting to convert 10312 to a 'Jizz Club'.
@PurpleDave said:
"
Presumably, there could be less expensive sets later on that only include the chipped elements, but no bricks. This would be more likely to happen with chipped minifigs than chipped models, since the chipped tiles built into models appear to all be set up for the brick to be semi-permanently installed on top of them. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if they plan to do an entire CMF wave with chipped minifigs."
Cheaper sets that only come with tags and figures are already known to be coming. It's basically like the Mario theme: you've got all-in-one sets with all the gizmos to get you started, and once you a have a smart brick you can reuse it with other compatible sets. Even within one set they expect you to be moving the brick around a lot, that's part of why the spots where you can place the brick have to be easily accessible.
Anyway, I like this idea of a Smart CMF line, good opportunity to introduce characters with unique personalities, thought I don't know if they can do it at the usual price.
@PurpleDave said: "it wouldn't surprise me if they plan to do an entire CMF wave with chipped minifigs"
Does that mean we'd be able to find specific ones by using the Smartbrick on the boxes?
@IgelCampus said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
" @IgelCampus said:
"That's a very complicated way to achieve things toys have done since the 80s. For AFOLs the "shake to activate" is completely stupid, because you cannot put the brick into anything complex like a train in your city because you don't want to remove it all the time and shake it to for example have train sounds in your layout."
Once the brick is placed on a tile, it will remain active until the battery runs out, so you do not need to keep shaking it."
Of course but that's not the point I was trying to make. If you want to put them into a more complex setup, like a train or some stationary building, you simply can't, because removing them whenever you want them to function (because you need to shake them) is not feasable. Just imagine the old power functions would need to be shaken to be enabled. It's just a stupid oversight if they omitted any kind of manual start possibility like a button."
I seriously doubt Lego will put a smart brick into an official Lego train set. The new 60470 Arctic Train set is already out, the new 60508 Police Train Heist is due out on March 1st so they are probably producing them now so too late to insert it and the fact you can already get generic train sounds on your phone with the app. It's kind of too bad it will happen that way but things being as they are I don't think they will.
@Gataka said:
" @PurpleDave said:
"
Presumably, there could be less expensive sets later on that only include the chipped elements, but no bricks. This would be more likely to happen with chipped minifigs than chipped models, since the chipped tiles built into models appear to all be set up for the brick to be semi-permanently installed on top of them. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if they plan to do an entire CMF wave with chipped minifigs."
Cheaper sets that only come with tags and figures are already known to be coming. It's basically like the Mario theme: you've got all-in-one sets with all the gizmos to get you started, and once you a have a smart brick you can reuse it with other compatible sets. Even within one set they expect you to be moving the brick around a lot, that's part of why the spots where you can place the brick have to be easily accessible.
Anyway, I like this idea of a Smart CMF line, good opportunity to introduce characters with unique personalities, thought I don't know if they can do it at the usual price. "
That would be a VERY expensive CMF series.
@oldtodd33 said:
" @Gataka said:
" @PurpleDave said:
"
Presumably, there could be less expensive sets later on that only include the chipped elements, but no bricks. This would be more likely to happen with chipped minifigs than chipped models, since the chipped tiles built into models appear to all be set up for the brick to be semi-permanently installed on top of them. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if they plan to do an entire CMF wave with chipped minifigs."
Cheaper sets that only come with tags and figures are already known to be coming. It's basically like the Mario theme: you've got all-in-one sets with all the gizmos to get you started, and once you a have a smart brick you can reuse it with other compatible sets. Even within one set they expect you to be moving the brick around a lot, that's part of why the spots where you can place the brick have to be easily accessible.
Anyway, I like this idea of a Smart CMF line, good opportunity to introduce characters with unique personalities, thought I don't know if they can do it at the usual price. "
That would be a VERY expensive CMF series. "
65 Euros per blind box. The box itself would have to be made of reinforced metal. Keys sold separately.
At that point we're basically just blind-buying Legobubus.
@iwybs said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @xoddam said:"Nice new x-wing canopy that accurately gets narrower towards the front. Hope they bring it back in future sets as I need to find a way to get one for my MOC."
Sadistic choice: You can either have that or the Snowspeeder canopy from 75414 in standard Snowspeeder colors. Which do you choose?"
The canopy from 75414, every time. That's an amazing dual-molded part that's ideally shaped, proportioned, and sized to represent the film vehicle and fit two minifigs underneath. The new windscreen on the Smart Brick X-wing has three-axis taper for the first time, but its proportions and size make it unsuitable for screen-accurate X-wing MOCs.
"
Yeah, the snowspeeder part is better and fills a void that has existed since the beginning of the Star Wars theme. The existing x-wing canopy isn't bad; it's just too wide at the front.
Expensive and pointless - This is the kind of thing that only sales managers think is useful. It may also have been developed in the hope of stopping the Americans in Greenland!
@PurpleDave said:
" @gunther_schnitzel said:
"Not sure I’d want to hear ‘jizz music’."
That was an unfortunate name to pick. Clearly, they wanted to evoke the idea of jazz music, without actually using a term so mundane as "jazz", so they came up with a sound-alike word, and just happened to pick the worst possible option. Kind of like how the youth of today just picked a terrible, pre-existing term to describe the act of sitting on a commercial flight and staring at the seat back with nothing to keep you occupied during the trip."
'David Putty'?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wAPBCtgRDrM&pp=0gcJCTIBo7VqN5tD
@StyleCounselor said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @gunther_schnitzel said:
"Not sure I’d want to hear ‘jizz music’."
That was an unfortunate name to pick. Clearly, they wanted to evoke the idea of jazz music, without actually using a term so mundane as "jazz", so they came up with a sound-alike word, and just happened to pick the worst possible option. Kind of like how the youth of today just picked a terrible, pre-existing term to describe the act of sitting on a commercial flight and staring at the seat back with nothing to keep you occupied during the trip."
'David Putty'?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wAPBCtgRDrM&pp=0gcJCTIBo7VqN5tD"
Yeah, that might be the inspiration for the practice, but if he was doing the real thing that term stands for, both he and his partner would probably be arrested, and they’d absolutely get added to the No-Fly list.
Maybe it's just me, but this just seems like a more advanced version of some of the old "light and sound" modules LEGO has made in the past.
Examples:
6907 Sonic Stinger
6783 Sonar Transmitting Cruiser
6770 Lunar Transporter Patroller
6482 Rescue Helicopter
Maybe adults didn't like those back then either, but as a kid I thought they were neat. I wanted them, but never was able to get any. I still think they're neat after getting 6907 in a lot as an adult. Sure maybe it's a gimmick, but it's a toy; lights and sounds are fun.
@PurpleDave said:
" @gunther_schnitzel said:
"Not sure I’d want to hear ‘jizz music’."
That was an unfortunate name to pick. Clearly, they wanted to evoke the idea of jazz music, without actually using a term so mundane as "jazz", so they came up with a sound-alike word, and just happened to pick the worst possible option. Kind of like how the youth of today just picked a terrible, pre-existing term to describe the act of sitting on a commercial flight and staring at the seat back with nothing to keep you occupied during the trip."
Dare I ask what you're talking about?
@axeleng said:" @WokePope said: "I'm going to have to ASSUME these smart bricks don't sound as crappy as some tech from 26 years ago did"
Try 126 years ago. In the Cantina Band demo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcUTjId-CBo), the little sound you can hear behind the rattling plastic sounds exactly like some kid winding a jack-in-the-box."
I'm pretty sure that the rattling is coming from the mechanism that shakes the brick, not the brick itself.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @gunther_schnitzel said:
"Not sure I’d want to hear ‘jizz music’."
That was an unfortunate name to pick. Clearly, they wanted to evoke the idea of jazz music, without actually using a term so mundane as "jazz", so they came up with a sound-alike word, and just happened to pick the worst possible option. Kind of like how the youth of today just picked a terrible, pre-existing term to describe the act of sitting on a commercial flight and staring at the seat back with nothing to keep you occupied during the trip."
Dare I ask what you're talking about?"
It has to do with dogs that are uncooked, if you take my meaning.
@AustinPowers said:
"I don't think this technology can be compared to Mindstorms, not by a long shot.
From what I've seen and heard so far it's basically just a souped up (and likely overengineered) version of the classic Light&Sound system. And at least that came with those cool current-transmitting plates. "
Personally, a souped up (and likely overengineered) version of the classic Light&Sound system is what I've been dreaming of for quite a while. Not needing to rely on plates to transmit current in order to get elements to interact strikes me as a plus, not a minus.
I'm certainly willing to give it a try! Star Wars isn't my favorite, but, like @Andrusi , I can't resist the idea of a screaming R2D2...and City applications might be very interesting.
@PurpleDave said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @gunther_schnitzel said:
"Not sure I’d want to hear ‘jizz music’."
That was an unfortunate name to pick. Clearly, they wanted to evoke the idea of jazz music, without actually using a term so mundane as "jazz", so they came up with a sound-alike word, and just happened to pick the worst possible option. Kind of like how the youth of today just picked a terrible, pre-existing term to describe the act of sitting on a commercial flight and staring at the seat back with nothing to keep you occupied during the trip."
Dare I ask what you're talking about?"
It has to do with dogs that are uncooked, if you take my meaning."
I remember one of my students using that lingo when talking about a trip he took. The timing was excellent since his mother had just showed to pick him up. It was clear she had no clue what the new meaning was and seemed ready to give a lecture. I quickly let her know that the phrase had mutated, and my student left with a rather befuddled look on his face. I never did get to hear about the resolution unfortunately. I've also heard it used for walking barefoot, skipping socks when wearing sneakers(a sin), or sandals without socks.
Ironically listening to j*zz music prevents you engaging in the other activity since you aren’t allowed any external stimulus.
@PurpleDave said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @gunther_schnitzel said:
"Not sure I’d want to hear ‘jizz music’."
That was an unfortunate name to pick. Clearly, they wanted to evoke the idea of jazz music, without actually using a term so mundane as "jazz", so they came up with a sound-alike word, and just happened to pick the worst possible option. Kind of like how the youth of today just picked a terrible, pre-existing term to describe the act of sitting on a commercial flight and staring at the seat back with nothing to keep you occupied during the trip."
Dare I ask what you're talking about?"
It has to do with dogs that are uncooked, if you take my meaning."
I didn't get your meaning until I saw @PhantomBricks' post, when the mention of the mother's reaction clued me in.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @gunther_schnitzel said:
"Not sure I’d want to hear ‘jizz music’."
That was an unfortunate name to pick. Clearly, they wanted to evoke the idea of jazz music, without actually using a term so mundane as "jazz", so they came up with a sound-alike word, and just happened to pick the worst possible option. Kind of like how the youth of today just picked a terrible, pre-existing term to describe the act of sitting on a commercial flight and staring at the seat back with nothing to keep you occupied during the trip."
Dare I ask what you're talking about?"
It has to do with dogs that are uncooked, if you take my meaning."
I didn't get your meaning until I saw @PhantomBricks' post, when the mention of the mother's reaction clued me in."
Yeah, I don’t get how the generation that knows all and judges everyone could slip up that badly and still run with their latecomer meaning. Even Disney renamed a character and her movie for release in Italy, rather than pigheadedly insisting that everyone adopt their new meaning.
@PurpleDave said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @gunther_schnitzel said:
"Not sure I’d want to hear ‘jizz music’."
That was an unfortunate name to pick. Clearly, they wanted to evoke the idea of jazz music, without actually using a term so mundane as "jazz", so they came up with a sound-alike word, and just happened to pick the worst possible option. Kind of like how the youth of today just picked a terrible, pre-existing term to describe the act of sitting on a commercial flight and staring at the seat back with nothing to keep you occupied during the trip."
'David Putty'?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wAPBCtgRDrM&pp=0gcJCTIBo7VqN5tD"
Yeah, that might be the inspiration for the practice, but if he was doing the real thing that term stands for, both he and his partner would probably be arrested, and they’d absolutely get added to the No-Fly list."
She did hope "that the plane would fly into a mountain."
All hail Vegetable Lasagna.
@PurpleDave said:
"Yeah, I don’t get how the generation that knows all and judges everyone could slip up that badly and still run with their latecomer meaning. Even Disney renamed a character and her movie for release in Italy, rather than pigheadedly insisting that everyone adopt their new meaning."
Sixsevenella?